Once a Bruin, always a Bruin!
Our School
Brownell Middle School is committed to help students achieve
academic excellence, social responsibility and personal development.
Mission
Brownell Middle School strives to develop a growth mindset, provide collaborative opportunities, along with fostering problem solving skills and innovation for all Brownell community members. Student potential will be achieved through high expectations and rigorous curricula. Students will self advocate, communicate effectively, empathize with others, and develop study skills necessary to be prepared for high school.
Brownell Middle School's History
During World War II, few schools were constructed in Santa Clara County because of wartime needs and restrictions. Once the war was over, school construction, along with other construction, boomed. Gilroy was no exception. Brownell was built in 1949 adjacent to Jordan School, with an addition made in 1951. No significant changes were made until the last few years when the sixth-grade wing was added.
Originally, it served seventh and eighth grades only. Then in about 1980, it changed to Brownell Fundamental School and served kindergarten through eighth grades. By the mid-1990s, it returned to a middle school, for sixth through eighth grades.
Brownell is a 2015 State of California Gold Ribbon School and Title 1 Academic Achievement Winner.
Elmer E. Brownell
Brownell Middle School was named after Elmer E. Brownell, a popular supervising principal of Gilroy public schools and a leader in the education in Santa Clara County in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Professor Brownell was born in Essex Junction, Vermont, on June 1, 1865.
He was educated in the San Jose public school system and graduated in 1884 from the California State Normal School, a school that educated teachers in association with the high school system. He then attended Stanford University. From 1887 to 1895, Professor Brownell had an illustrious career as a teacher and administrator throughout the Bay Area. From 1896 to 1906 he served as president of the Santa Clara County Board of Education. He finished his educational career as a leader of Gilroy public schools.
Professor Brownell was also involved in the community. He was an enthusiastic, non-partisan worker of local movements and was a member of the Scottish Rite Masons, the Knights Templar, the Watsonville Elks Lodge, the Mountain View Odd Fellows Lodge, the Gilroy I. O. O. F., and served as secretary and treasurer of Gilroy Golf and Country Club .
